Vengeance
by Nikkel
Summary: One calm, summer night, Katara gets quite the unexpected visitor from the grave of the past. Oneshot. Postwar.


**Vengeance**  
_By Nikkel_  
(c) to Nickelodean, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

Gentle summer wind whispered with quiet grace through the midnight household. Serene breezes brought in tender lullabies of the butterfly-crickets, chirping a soft tune about the silver moon and stars. Within these darkened hours, dreams were universes of wonder and elegance, cradling young souls to close their eyes and rest for the early morn.

"Goodnight." A woman said to her children, laying them down to sleep. She kissed their small foreheads with delicate, motherly lips, content with the peace and joy they brought her. She stood over their crib, simply watching them slumber upon the mattress and flaunt their baby beauties, and without effort. Through her eyes, the twins were magnificent, even though they were hardly beyond their second year. A third child was also present, but stayed in the safe confines of the woman's belly. Gazing at the toddlers, she calmly stroked the large, protruding bulge of her stomach, fingers passing over tanned skin and cerulean fabric.

Bathed in moonlight, Katara could not believe how far she had come, and not just in her pregnancy. Watching over her children reminded her that she had become a survivor and a fighter, and was allowed to live a life of happiness and prosperity from all the struggle. She was now a wise woman, teaching her children the lessons they needed to be taught, and guiding them in the right direction. When Katara looked into the mirror she would see her mother, Kya, features full and hair long. But Katara did not have the worried blue eyes her mother did, but brilliant and shining cobalt eyes of promise and hope. She remembered the days when people felt that hope had faded from them, but when they looked into her eyes, they had seen a world of faith and future.

"I'll be right back." She whispered to the twins, and picked up her sweeping indigo gown, walking barefoot across the sanded, cherrywood floors. A lone candle illuminated the kitchen in an orange light as Katara ignited the sparkler rocks for a pot of tea. A window above the counter was thrown open like the rest of the house, where a shallow pond could be seen. With a flick of her wrist and twirling of her fingers, a stream of fresh water hovered in the air and travelled inside the house by Katara's command, dancing around her wrist like a flowing ribbon, and settling into the teapot as if it too, were falling asleep. Katara turned to the jar of dark tea leaves and placed several into the pot, and then leaned back, patiently waiting for the water to boil.

The homely aroma of chocolate rose in the air, warm and pleasant. Katara had chosen the cacao leaves powdered with white and brown sugar because the flavor always brought her back home to the Southern Water Tribe. She recalled her grandmother brewing the tea while she and her older brother had played and rolled around in the Arctic snow all day, freezing their fingers and toes as they built ice castles and pretended to be penguins. For a moment Katara even thought she could feel the hearth of an igloo's fire and hear the echoing barks of tiger-seals…

The teapot whistled, sounding like a puffin-wolf's howl, and Katara doused out the fire. She poured herself a cup of tea, adding light flavorings like cinnamon spices and maple tree syrup. When she sipped it, it was the exact way Gran-Gran had made it. Katara closed her eyes in serenity, allowing the chestnut tea to spread throughout her body, massaging her chakra points and soothing her lethargy as she wandered her way back to the crib. Leaning over the crib she sipped her cup, eyes half-lidded as she imagined bringing her children to the South Pole, where they could experience the kind of culture and life she had while growing up. If she brought them while they were older, Aang could teach them how to penguin sled. Katara giggled at the memory and let her cheek rest on the crib, one hand holding her tea and the other drooping down to her daughter's forehead, brushing the soft, ebony hair she had inherited from her father. Together, they were a wonderful family, raised upon positive moral values and healthy virtues, and stabilized by love and compassion. Katara was satisfied with the way her life had turned out, and was excited for what there was to come. She thought of all these things as she closed her eyes, drifting back into the wintry world of white, buffalo-deer skins, and sea prune stews…

"_Hello Katara_."

The mother's eyes instantly snapped open at the voice, slamming her back into reality and completely erasing the visions of her homeland. Katara froze, her fingers going limp and dropping her tea to the floor, the porcelain cup shattering on impact, china pieces flying everywhere. Her mind was an utter blank, paralyzed by shock and fear. She had the wild urge to throw herself in front of her children and shield them from the harm that had entered their peaceful home.

_"It's been a long time, hasn't it? Such a long, long time… turn around so I can see that beautiful face of yours, I wonder how you've aged…" _The voice tempted, and slowly, Katara turned and faced the menace, bewildered eyes wide and staring at the woman that had only visited her in her nightmares. Azula leaned sinisterly in the doorway, standing with a haughty posture in ripped and dirtied Fire Nation prison clothing. Bedraggled, charcoal snakes of unkempt hair fell down in front of her sickeningly pale face, emphasizing the deadly, burning passion of her golden eyes, marked with heavy shadows from a lack of sleep. But what frightened Katara the most was the twisted Chesire grin upon her old enemy's face.

"What do you want?" Katara blurted, but did not come out the way she had expected. Instead of the strong voice she had withheld in her teenage years, what escaped her lips was a voice of utter fear, cowardice. The insane smile Azula wore only twitched and grew wider, her head cocking with interest, like a predator curious to discover the defense mechanisms of its prey before striking. A cold, high-pitched laugh echoed out of her throat.

"_This is such a lovely house, you know. Did you and the Avatar build it?" _Azula asked, completely ignoring Katara's question. She turned and ran her finger along the fine wood, and then slowly began to approach the mother and children. _"It would be such a shame if it were burnt down…"_

A jet of blue-white flame ignited in the palm of Azula's hand.

"Don't you dare come near them." Katara threatened, gaining confidence in her voice as she saw the fire.

"_What, your children?" _Azula chuckled, and crushed the flame in her palm. Hardly taking heed to the waterbender's threat she pressed herself against her, her skin touching Katara's, smooth and deceiving. Azula leaned forward, her lips to the mother's ear.

"_I don't want your children, Katara." _Azula whispered, breath sharp, venomous. The firebender ran a hand on Katara's round, pregnant stomach, dragging her long, claw-like nails across, wrinkling the fabric._ "It's you. You're the one that put me down and imprisoned me, shackled me to that sewer grate and left me for dead. Had you not stepped in pathetic Zuzu's place, __I_ _would be in power, and your entire family would be __slaughtered__. But no… no, you had to intervene and be the victor, even though you are nothing more than a filthy peasant!"_

Azula spat, her body shaking, but her cold voice did not waver once. Katara could feel her saliva in her ear, and every part of her longed for the protection of her husband. But Aang was away, making peace treaties, and he could not help her.

"I…I'm sorry." Katara sputtered, and cried out as Azula's nails scratched her stomach, hands flying and clamping her wrists to the crib's railing. The sudden movement jolted the twins awake and they began to cry, and Azula leaned so close to the waterbender that Katara swore that she was going to kiss her. But Azula's face was contorted with rage, her collected demeanor shattering in an instant.

"_Sorry?!" _Azula snarled. _"Is that all you can say for your crime? __Sorry__? You stole my crown and my __life__! And if there's one thing you should understand, waterbender, it's that I don't give out forgiveness! You're going to scream at my mercy as I bleed you dry!"_

"Aah!" Katara gasped, her wrists burning, and Azula lacing her fingers with fire. She struggled against the firebender's grasp, when a sharp and sudden pain blasted her stomach. She cried out again and immediately found it difficult to stand, having panicked contractions. She strained against Azula, hearing her hateful, shrieking words and the terrified wails of her children screaming, both the ones in bed and the one inside her. She tossed her head and screamed loudly, her knees giving out, going limp.

_"Die!" _Azula howled and her fingers crackled with electricity, drawing lightning from thin air, shocking up her shoulders and surrounding her body, prepared to strike Katara with every ounce of energy, longing to see her dead on the floor with nothing left, just as she had done to her so many years ago. _"Die, you miserable peasant! D—"_

"_Never_!" Katara cried out, and slashed a deadly water whip up from Azula's collarbone, across her cheek, and above her eyebrow. The firebender stumbled backwards from the stinging blow, clutching her face, roaring in rage. Katara had used the water from her tea that had fallen to the ground, and with swift movements she struck Azula again, slicing her in the stomach, ripping her clothes to shreds.

"You are to stay away from my family!" She yelled. "_This _is my home! _This _is my life! And you are _never_ welcomed here!"

And just like she had appeared, Azula was gone.

Katara pulled her two children out of bed and crumbled to the floor, burying her head in them, sobbing horribly. She didn't understand what had happened or how Azula had found her, let alone escape the Fire Nation, but it didn't matter—all that mattered was her children in her arms and her love and protection for them. She didn't want them to be exposed to the dangers of Azula, and Katara took a silent vow to herself to one day track Azula down for herself and not seek vengeance, but explain all the horrible things she had done. If Azula killed her, but allowed her family to live, then so be it.

But at the moment, she merely sat amongst the broken china cup and tea, the water now stained with blood, and cried her heart out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I based the bulk of this off of Windy-Asylum's "Coherency" picture over on DeviantArt. Amazing. I suppose you could consider this Azutara, but I'm not really a fan of it. Interpret it as you wish.


End file.
